The Bloodmoon prophecy
by Razeer
Summary: Strange things have occured on the Island of Solstheim, and the natives connect these strange happenings with the legend known as "The Bloodmoon Prophecy"...
1. Chapter 1

Strange things have occurred on the island of Solstheim. People have found dead horkers littering the shores, without any signs of struggle or disease. The bodies of soldiers have been found in the wild, partially eaten...Some of the natives have even reported sightings of some kind of a beast, moving only at night, and close to a cavern in the north part of the island.

The natives connect these strange happenings with an old superstitious legend known as

"The Bloodmoon Prophecy". The imperial soldiers that inhabit the southern part of the island do not believe in this so called "legend", they call it a superstitious tale. But if the prophecy is true or not, they will soon find out...

Chapter 1: Arrival

"Bartender, give me another round!"

The bartender grabbed a bottle of sujamma and gave it to the already half-drunk Nord.

"You know Ulfgar, if I were you I would slow down on the drinking" the bartender said.

Ulfgar grabbed the bottle and emptied it in a matter of seconds, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He shoved his hand down his pocket, and grabbed a handful of septims and gave them to the bartender.

"This should cover all the drinks I have had today" he said with a smile on his face. The bartender smiled as well. Ulfgar left the tavern and walked out in to the night. He stuck his hand down his pocket, and grabbed a small piece of paper. He then unfolded it and read it once more, like he had done the day before.

"Dear brother, I have been positioned as a guard here on the island of Solstheim, and I hope that you will come and visit me someday.

Your brother, Ansgar"

He hadn't seen his brother for 10 years, and now, all of a sudden, he sends a note? Ulfgar felt uneasy about this note, but since he hadn't seen his brother in such a long time, he felt that a short visit couldn't hurt. He had done some work at the local smith, so he had enough septims to pay for the long journey to Solstheim. He returned to his little hut, and packed some shirts, a pair of pants and his armor and favorite weapon, a nordic silver axe which had been handed down from his late father, Brandr. He left his little hut in the sleepy village of Hla Oad, and started walking towards the village of Khuul.

It took one and a half day to get to Khuul, and Ulfgar was exhausted. The sun was on it's way up, but all the sleepy Nord had in mind was to find a tavern. He checked in at the only tavern in town, "The Sitting Guar". After about 10 hours of good, well-needed sleep, the nord was on his legs again. As he stepped outside the building, he saw dark clouds in the sky, closing in on the village. If he was going to make the trip to Solstheim, he would have to do the trip now, or wait a couple of days for those nasty clouds to vanish.

He thought for a second, and then decided that he would make the trip as soon as possible, and he then turned and started walking towards the docks. As he reached to the docks, he noticed that there was only one boat in the water, all the other boats had been pulled onto the shore. He saw that the owner of the boat in the water was untying the knot that prevented the boat from floating away. Ulfgar took a deep breath and approached the owner.

"Excuse me sir?" he said," Does this boat go to Solstheim perhaps?"

The owner looked up, and Ulfgar saw that the owner was a Khajit, a mix between a cat and a man.

"Yes, this boat goes to Solstheim", he hissed.

Ulfgar nodded and examined the boat. "How long does it take to get to Solstheim?" he asked.

"That depends on how much you pay", the Khajit said without taking his eyes of the rope.

Ulfgar nodded again and reached into his pocket and grabbed a small leather pouch, and dangled it before the Khajit's eyes.

"Will 35 septims do?" he asked. The Khajit looked at the pouch, and then at the Nord.

"Yes," he hissed,"35 septims will do just fine".

"When are we leaving?" he asked.

"Whenever you feel like leaving".

Ulfgar dumped his belongings in the boat and got in. The Khajit jumped in as well. They slowly floated from the docks, and while the Khajit fixed the sails, Ulfgar stared down into the murky water.

They had barely left the island of Vvardenfell, when one hell of a storm hit the little boat. The giant waves created by the storm hit the sides of the boat, almost sending it into the abyss. The Khajit struggled to prevent the storm from ripping the sails.

"You should not worry," He shouted, "I have faced even bigger storms".

Ulfgar smiled, and he was not prepared for the massive wave that rose above the boat and washed his belongings into the sea. He watched in fear as his fathers axe, the only thing that he had left of his father, disappeared in to the deep murky waters. He stood up in the boat, and was just about to dive in, when he heard the terrifying scream of the Khajit captain. Ulfgar turned around and saw to his horror, that the captain had been hit by a massive wave that had thrown him into the sea.

Now, Ulfgar was facing a hard decision: Would he ignore the captains desperate cries for help, and dive into the water to retrieve his fathers axe, or save the captain, knowing that without a captain he would never reach Solstheim, and thus losing the only thing he had left after his father to the treacherous sea.

So what did you think of the first chapter ? Please read and review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fort Frostmoth

Ulfgar struggled to remain in the boat, while desperately trying to decide if he should rescue the captain or his fathers axe. He thought for a second, and realized that he could probably save the axe, and rescue the captain if he was quick enough. He took one deep breath, and dove into the cold sea. He tried to locate his fathers axe in the cold murky water, but it was not a very easy task. He returned to the surface and took another deep breath, and dove back. He was just about to give up, when he saw a little tint of silver, shining through the murky water. He swam as fast as he could towards the axe, trying to prevent it from sinking any deeper. His arms and legs were almost numb, and the sea water burned his eyes as he

tried to keep them open. He was now inches away, and he thought that he could hear the captains voice, shouting from the surface.

He grabbed the heavy axe, and felt almost relieved. Now, all he had to do, was to reach the surface, and rescue the captain. He swam as fast as he could, and reached the surface within a couple of seconds. He scanned the surroundings, and saw the captain, about twenty feet from his own position. He was just about to swim towards the captain, when he heard a strange noise. He turned around, and saw a gigantic wave coming towards him. His legs and arms were to cold, he couldn't move.

He just stared in fear as the massive wave closed in on him. He tried to escape, but the wave was to fast, and it struck him as he tried to swim away. The large wave pulled him beneath the surface and sent him flying towards the bottom. His air supply was running out, and he knew that he would never reach the captain in time to save him. He tried to reach the surface, but the closer he got to the surface, the more air he lost. He was almost there, when he felt dizzy and very lightheaded. He used his last strength to tuck his axe under his belt, so that he would not lose it again. And when the axe was safe, he slowly closed his eyes, and thought of his father, and the fact that he would soon met him.

The image of his father went blurry, and then it went completely black. When he opened his eyes again, he was on a bed in what appeared to be a cavern of ice. He slowly got up and looked around this strange place, and then he suddenly realized that his fathers axe was gone. He saw an exit, that seemed to lead into a corridor. He entered the corridor and followed it to another entrance. He entered, and found himself in another cavern, a little bit bigger than the first one. He looked around, and couldn't exactly remember how he got here in the first place. He was just about to leave when he heard a low grunt, coming from within the cavern. He followed a small hallway deeper into the cavern. As he moved further into the hallway, he heard the grunts becoming louder and louder. When he reached a turn, he hesitated at first, but then he gathered courage, and went around the corner.

What he saw in front of him was like something out of a nightmare.

The floor was littered with bones and skulls of men, and in a dark corner sat a hairy beast of some sort, chewing on what appeared to be the bone of a man. Ulfgar tried to keep himself from vomiting, and was terrified when he saw that the beast had spotted him, and was moving towards him, slowly but surely. He ran away in pure terror, but regardless of how fast he ran, the beast seemed to close in on him. He could feel the creatures breath in his neck as he ran, and when it seemed as he had lost it, he felt a hairy hand grasp his neck, and suddenly, everything went black again.

When he opened his eyes, he was lying on a bed. He grabbed his side, and felt his fathers axe. He sighed in relief and leaned back against the big, warm pillow. He looked around the room he was in. It was quite large, with a drawer in the far end and a fireplace against the northern wall. He got up and saw that his armor and clothes were nicely folded by the fireplace. He was just about to grab the pair of pants, when he heard footsteps in the hallway outside the room. He quickly grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his lower body. Then, a woman entered the room, carrying a tray with food. She stared at the half naked Nord for a second and then turned around, her cheeks changing color from almost pale to deep red.

"I'm sorry," she said," I did not know that you were dressing".

Ulfgar got dressed and turned to face the woman.

"It is alright," he said," Now, can you please tell me where I am and how I got here?".

The woman turned around, and Ulfgar realized that she was blessed with good looks.

"You are in the guest room of Fort Frostmoth sir," she said,"One of the fishing boats salvaged your body from the ocean".

The woman took a deep breath, and continued.

"When you got here your body was so cold and stiff that we thought that you were dead, but then you started to mumble some strange words, so we brought you here".

"And what of the man that I traveled here with?" Ulfgar asked, and the woman just shook her head.

"We only found you sir" she said, and he noted a hint of sorrow in her voice.

Ulfgar nodded, and asked the woman if she knew a soldier by the name of Ansgar.

"No, I have never heard of a soldier by the name of Ansgar in this Fort, but you should speak with the captain" she said.

Ulfgar nodded again, and grabbed his armor and was moving towards the door, when suddenly he stopped in the doorway. He turned around and looked at the woman.

"What is your name?" he asked. She looked at him and smiled.

"Hilda" she said.

Ulfgar smiled and exited the room, focused on finding the captain of the fort. After a lot of asking, Ulfgar finally found the captain´s quarters in the upper levels of the fort. The captain´s quarters were much larger than the other rooms in the fort, and it was better decorated as well. On the floor was a soft red carpet, and the entire west wall was covered with bookcases and drawers. The eastern wall had a large fireplace, and the wall was decorated with swords and shields. There was a bed in the back of the room, and in the middle of the room stood a wooden desk with candles that shined bright, and illuminated most of the desk.

Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man with long gray hair and a gray beard, dressed as a

nobleman.

He was reading what seemed to be a journal, and he didn't even notice when Ulfgar entered. Ulfgar knocked on the door to attract the attention of the man. When he heard the knocking sound, he looked up from his journal and was surprised by the sight of Ulfgar.

"Well hello to you, my friend," he said with a happy tone," I did not hear you when you entered".

Ulfgar grabbed a chair and sat down in front of the man.

"I guess a proper introduction would be in order," the man said," My name is Falx Carius, and I am the captain of this fort, and who might you be?".

"My name is Ulfgar, and I am looking for my brother. He is supposed to be stationed here".

The captain smiled, and opened a ledger filled with different names.

"Well, If you would give me a name it would help the search?".

"His name is Ansgar" Ulfgar said.

When the captain heard the name, his smiled disappeared, and his face went pale.

"What's wrong?" Ulfgar asked as he noticed the change in the captain's expression.

"Ansgar vanished a while back," the captain said," He was supposed to check a suspicious cave, and he never returned".

Ulfgar could not believe what he was hearing.

"Apparently, some sort of creature is said to live in that cave, so we sent him there to gather information".

"Where is this cave," Ulfgar asked," I must go there now!".

He was stopped by the captain.

"Whoa, hold your horses, I just can't send you to this cave, "he said," It would mean certain death".

"But you could send my brother, right?" Ulfgar said, irritated by the captain's decision.

The captain sighed heavily.

"Ansgar was one of my best men, and see what happened to him. Now, you just can't expect me to send anyone in there".

Ulfgar took one step closer towards the captain.

"I am going to that cave, and you cannot stop me," he said, his voice ringing with the determination so often associated with the nords.

The captain, unfazed by Ulfgar's threats, leaned forward and carefully observed the nord standing before him.

"I like you," he finally said," In fact, I like you so much, that I will help you with this quest".

He reaced down, opened the top drawer and grabbed what appeared to be a map of the Island. He put the map on his desk and marked a spot in the northern part of the Island. He then handed it to Ulfgar.

"I have marked the meadhall of Thirsk, someone there will probably know the location of the cave," he said.

Ulfgar took the map, thanked the captain for his cooperation and then exited the fortress, beginning his journey towards the meadhall of Thirsk.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Udurfrykte

The sun was slowly rising over the cold and bitter island of Solstheim. Two days ago, Ulfgar had left the safe haven of fort Frostmoth in search of his brother, Ansgar, who had vanished during a mission a couple of weeks earlier. Ulfgar had received a map from the captain of the fort, Falx Carius, which would lead him to the meadhall of Thirsk. But with each step, Ulfgar started to lose faith in his brothers survival...

Ulfgar walked slowly through the deep snow, unaffected by the cold weather due to his Nord heritage. He constantly looked at the poorly drawn map, just to be sure that he didn't wander off in the wrong direction. His food supply was almost empty, but if the map was correct, he was soon to stumble upon the meadhall of Thirsk. He was almost sure that he was fighting for a lost cause, that his brother had fallen victim to some of the islands more hostile inhabitants, but there was some part of him that thought that he should continue his quest. Ulfgar forgot about these things, when a large building was sighted in the horizon. For some reason, his body was filled with new hope, and he started to run towards the building. But when he got close, he was struck with a feeling that something was wrong.

The thick wooden doors of the building were half open, and they were covered with claw marks. Ulfgar feared the worst, and readied his axe. He walked up the wooden stairs and slowly, he opened the doors. Behind the doors was a large room, almost like a throne room, and as Ulfgar entered, he was struck with fear. The floor was covered with broken furniture, and the walls were covered with blood, both red and black. Ulfgar swallowed his fear and entered further, only to be greeted by the bodies of five people, four males and one female. Their torsos were shredded, and there guts were missing. Their faces were pale, and the expressions they carried indicated that something really horrible had been here.

Ulfgar spotted a pool of black blood, right next to one of the victims, but as he was reaching down to investigate it, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Thank the gods, finally a living person!".

Ulfgar made a quick 180 turn, axe in hand, and saw a woman, standing about five feet away from him.

"What has happened here?" he asked.

"It was horrible, it broke through the gate and killed everybody except for me...".

Ulfgar repeated the question. The woman looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"We don't speak of it, as it is the most feared beast on the island" she said.

Ulfgar suddenly understood what beast she meant. It was the Udurfrykte, the beast of fear. Ulfgar had heard tales of it when he was a child, that it was a large beast with yellow eyes and a body that was covered with black fur.

He realised that this was the beast that he had seen in his dream. It had to be.

"Are you sure?" Ulfgar asked, "the tale of the Udurfrykte is a tale meant to frighten little children".

The woman laughed at him.

"If it doesn't exist, then what caused this massacre? Was it a gang of bandits that overmanned four powerful Nords, killed them and then shredded their chest and emptied them of their organs huh?".

Ulfgar remained silent, comtemplating the absurdity of her tale.

"We have known of it's existence for a long time, but it has never attacked humans. Usually, it goes out at night to hunt horkers or other wild animals".

Ulfgar started to see a connection with the Udurfrykte attack and the disappearance of his brother.

"Listen," he said to the woman," Have you seen any imperial soldiers around here lately?"

The woman was quiet, and then she spoke.

"There was this one fellow here, a couple of days ago, who came here and claimed that he would kill the beast that lurked in the cave of ice" she said.

She took a deep breath, and continued.

"He then left, and I haven't heard or seen him since."

Ulfgars faith was dropping by the second.

"Were is this cave of ice that this fellow spoke of?" he said.

The woman pointed out the door.

"Go straight ahead for about ten minutes, and you should reach it."

Ulfgar nodded, and rushed out the door.

It took exactly ten minutes to reach the cavern, and when he entered, he was struck by a foul stench. He ignored it and kept going. The cavern consisted of endless tunnels, most of them leading to dead ends. But at least Ulfgar got some exercise, because the long tunnels were crawling with goblins. As Ulfgar was about to leave, he spotted a tunnel that he had somehow missed on his way inside. He started to walk down this new tunnel, and it didn´t take long before he realized were he was. It was the tunnel from his dream, and if he could rely on this dream, the beast should be close. He continued further inside and soon he heard some strange noises, like some one chewing on something. He decided that he was going to rush the beast, and hopefully, his brother was going to be there as well. He tightened the grip of the axe handle, and started to run down the last segment of the tunnel.

When he rounded the corner, he was paralyzed with fear. There it sat, the Udurfrykte, the beast from his dream. He couldn't do anything, he was frozen on the spot. The Udurfrykte felt something in the air, and as it turned around, it let out a bone chilling howl. Ulfgar was ready to meet his maker, when he spotted something in the corner of the room. On top of the pile of bones, sat the head of his brother, Ansgar.

First he was shocked, then he realized that this ugly beast had slain his brother, the only family he had left. He could not think straight, as rage clouded his mind, and he let out a furious scream that made the Udurfrykte stop moving. He felt nothing, not fear nor pity, and all he could think about was killing this beast in the most brutal way possible. The Udurfrykte started moving backwards, as the enraged Nord ran straight toward it. Ulfgar swung his mighty axe, and in one clean sweep, he had separated the legs from the big hairy beast. The Udurfrykte fell backwards and was unable to defend itself as Ulfgar, now in a complete frenzy, mounted the creature and aimed blow after blow towards the upper torso.

Soon, the walls were covered in black blood, and all that was left of the beast was a bloody pile of fur on the floor. Ulfgar tucked away his axe, and started to dig around in the creatures chest. And when he retracted his hand, he had gripped the heart of the Udurfrykte, and pulled it out from its body. He left the cave with the heart in his hand, and when he reached the meadhall of Thirsk, he took a deep breath, and stepped inside. The hall was now populated again, and about ten pairs of eyes focused on him, as he went to the center of the room, held the heart up in the air, and spoke in a mighty tune.

"My name is Ulfgar the great, Slayer of the Udurfrykte!".

He let the words sink in as he continued.

"I have in my hand the mightiest trophy of them all, the heart of the Udurfrykte, and I shall claim this meadhall for my own. If anybody has a problem with that, they can step forward and challenge me."

Ulfgar looked around and saw to his surprise that the woman that had led him to the ice cave took one step forwards. She looked at him, and then she smiled.

"Hail Ulfgar the great, Slayer of the Udurfrykte!".

The other Nords stepped forward and chanted the same words: Hail Ulfgar, Slayer of the Udurfrykte...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The assignment

It had now been one week since Ulfgar ventured into the lair of the Udurfrykte, the foul beast that had killed his brother, and ripped its heart from its body. He had returned to the mead hall of Thirsk, and claimed it for his own, and he had been praised as a hero. Ulfgar had just begun to settle in at the mead hall, when he had received a letter from captain Carius at fort Frostmoth. The letter said that he was to travel to the fort as soon as possible, because Carius wanted to discuss something important with him. Ulfgar was a bit annoyed over the lack of information in the letter, but he was still going to go and see what Carius wanted. Carius and his men were the one's that had pulled him out of the cold sea when he first arrived to the island, so Ulfgar felt that it was the least he could do.

He had already packed a small bag with some food, a couple of useful potions and a full set of Nordic fur armor. The armor was useful to him, as in addition to providing the extra layer of defense, it was also pretty warm. He closed the pouch with the food, hung it over his shoulder and tucked his axe in his belt. He had fought many beasts with this axe, and it was starting to show. The axe looked like it was ready to fall apart at a moments notice, and the handle was almost cracked. Still, the axe hadn't failed him yet, and it was the only memory he had after his father. Ulfgar left the mead hall of Thirsk, walking south towards the fort. The distance was not that long, and he had figured that if he kept a normal pace, he would be there in less than two days.

Ulfgar admired the beautiful snow covered plains as he passed numerous barrows and tombs on his way to the fort. Most of them had already been looted, and those who hadn't been looted were often filled with reasons why. Draugrs, the reanimated corpses of dead nords were often guarding these barrows, and nothing short of a true warrior would go in there and face their wrath. Ulfgar suddenly heard a noise behind him, and he had just enough time to roll out of the way as several small figures riding on animals came towards him. _Riekling raiders,_ he thought as he removed the axe from his belt. There were three of them, armed with swords and lances. Although they were only about three heads tall, they were still a force to be reckoned with because of their habit of attacking in rather large numbers. Ulfgar had heard stories about people running into at least 8-10 of them at a time.

He swung his axe, and hit one of them clean in the chest. A spray of blood was coughed up, and he was dead before he had hit the ground. The other two snarled fiercely, and charged at him once again. Ulfgar dodged the first one, and deflected the lance that came towards him. He spun around and kicked the one with the lance of the saddle. He smashed into a tree, and Ulfgar used this opportunity to slam the axe in his head, leaving his skull wide open. The last one made a U-turn, and slashed Ulfgar in the leg. He fell to a kneeling position, and saw the little riekling coming towards him, sword first. Ulfgar gripped his axe by the end of the handle, and threw it against the charging enemy.

The axe flew in a straight line, smashing the riekling in the head. Ulfgar smiled, but the smile disappeared as he saw the axe of his father shatter before his eyes. The riekling fell to the ground, a bleeding wound in his forehead. Ulfgar limped over to the fallen enemy, and brought his good leg up in the air. He stomped the riekling in its throat, and he could feel the entire throat caving in under the pressure of his stomp. The riekling twitched a little, and then went silent. Ulfgar picked up what had once been his fathers axe, now merely a piece of metal stuck to a wooden handle. He sighed, threw it away, and continued his walk towards the fort.

At nightfall, he had reached the fort, and the guards greeted him warmly. He was fed, and his wound was taken care of. The next day, he met with the captain in his office.

"Ulfgar, good to see you again," he said, and motioned at a chair placed in front of the desk, "please have a seat". Ulfgar sat down, and the captain poured him a drink. "As you know, this fort was built to ensure the protection of travelers and such, that decide to come here". Ulfgar nodded, and took a sip of the drink in front of him. "Recently, we have heard about a group of mercenaries, attacking one of the forts on Morrowind, in an effort to make it into a smugglers hideout".

Ulfgar was beginning to think of what this could possibly have to do with him. The captain paused as he swallowed the contents of his own mug, and then continued. "I have received orders that any spare men are to be sent to that fort, to protect it from these mercenaries…and that is where you enter the picture". Ulfgar had a bad feeling about this. "So you want me to travel to this fort and protect it from mercenaries?" The captain nodded, and poured himself another drink. "Who would be more fitting to save the fort than the slayer of the Udurfrykte himself?" he said with a smile. Ulfgar smiled as well, but quickly returned to his normal state of concern. "What's in it for me?" he asked, and the captain got up from the chair and walked around the desk.

"Besides a large sum of money, I'm sure that we could order a house to be built for you in Raven rock, a bit north west of here". Ulfgar shook his head. "I already have a home, the mead hall of Thirsk". Carius looked up in the ceiling. "Then all I can offer is the money…how about it?" Ulfgar thought for a second, and then nodded. "Okay, but after that, we are even". The captain laughed, and gave him a small package. "You will ship out in the morning, and good luck to you…I think that you're going to need it".


End file.
